We had the good fortune of connecting with Josh Miller and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Josh, can you share the most important lesson you’ve learned over the course of your career?
One of the most important lessons our work at IDEAS xLab has taught me is the value of our lived experience and multidimensional identities, and how important it is to create an environment where people aren’t covering when they come to work. Covering is when you downplay, hide or filter parts of yourself at work, with different social groups, at school or with family.

Our work is stronger, more innovative, creative, and impactful because we’re embracing the many parts of who our team, collaborators, artists, and board of directors are. We actively work to create spaces where people feel a sense of belonging and can be honest about how work and life events are impacting them.

What should our readers know about your business?
IDEAS xLab is the nonprofit I co-founded almost a decade ago that uses the art of storytelling and community collaboration to impact public health. Our team is led by queer, Black and women artists with employees based in Denver, CO and Louisville, KY.

Through our work, we have collaborated with nonprofits, museums, artists, public health researchers, activists, corporations, and community members – having worked with communities or facilitated workshops in states including Kentucky, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Colorado.

Our vision is a world where art is a foundational guiding force in creating and sustaining a just society. We recognize that art is storytelling and our mission is to unearth and honor community stories that transform people, spaces and cultures.

We have three primary areas of work that we pour ourselves into:

– (Un)Known Project, that uses arts installations and experiences to honor the names and tell the stories of Black enslaved people in Louisville, KY and beyond.

Through (Un)Known Project, we’ve unearthed 800+ names of enslaved people and unveiled new public art, art installations and immersive experiences with partners including Frazier History Museum and Roots 101 African American Museum.

We are in the process of expanding (Un)Known Project to include new sites in different states across the U.S. so if you’re interested in exploring that with us we’d love to talk to you! Learn more: unknownprojecttrail.com

– Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Workshops, Consulting and Keynotes – working with companies and nonprofits, using arts activities, dialogue, reflection, and collective planning to facilitate growth and inclusive change.

Through our IDEA work – we’ve leveraged our experiences identifying as queer and/or Black to create compelling engagements that help to overcome outdated mental models and barriers to change. As one client said, “I was worried it would be a very corporate ‘here’s what racism is and why it’s bad’ presentation but you both made it so personal, so open, and so real for all of us. I’m more hopeful about the future of my company now than I ever have been.” Learn more: ideasxlab.com/inclusion

– Arts + Public Health collaborations including work with the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health & Wellness (LMPHW) to create culturally-responsive communications campaigns with a focus on childhood lead poisoning prevention, housing justice and health equity.

Through our most recent collaboration with LMPHW, the digital ad featuring the community’s faces and words performed 233% above the industry standard and through multiple campaigns we’ve reached 1 million+ people. Learn more: ideasxlab.com/artshealth

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
There are so many great places to explore art, culture and history in Colorado — RedLine Contemporary Art Center, Denver Art Museum, History Colorado, Clyfford Still Museum and Denver Museum of Nature & Science, to name a few!

The outdoors here are awe-inspiring – with great trails on Lookout Mountain, Golden Gate Canyon State Park, Bear Peak, Loveland Pass, Juniper Pass and Echo Lake, and more. 

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My dear friend and our Chief Creative Officer at IDEAS xLab Hannah Drake. We are on this journey together. It’s because of our many experiences over the past few years, from Louisville, KY to Natchez, MS and Senegal, West Africa that we’re able to create the initiatives we are leading today, including (Un)Known Project.

My husband Theo Edmonds co-founded IDEAS xLab with me, and now leads the Imaginator Academy at the University of Colorado Denver.

Website: https://ideasxlab.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ideasxlab/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmventures/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ideasxlab

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IDEASxLab

Image Credits
Photo of Josh Miller and Hannah Drake by Jessie Kriech-Higdon. Project photos courtesy of IDEAS xLab.

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.